Popular course puts students on path to careers

CARLSBAD -- School officials last week said a popular
school-to-career academy program will continue even though the
state grant supporting it is due to end.

"It's our full intent to keep the academy approach going," said
district Superintendent Cheryl Ernst. "The students are happy with
it, and the parents are very happy with it."

The academy and its internship program at Carlsbad High School
are intended to give juniors and seniors a leg up as they go on to
universities and careers in business, health services, the arts,
communications, computer technology, engineering, education and
other professions.

It has also been expanded to include students who may choose to
train to become technicians rather than following the university
route.

The program offers advanced classes in mathematics, genetics,
electronics and biotechnology, which are open to both academy and
nonacademy students. A new class in filmmaking was added in
September.

Some school officials said they worried the academy and the
classes might be canceled or curtailed. This is the last year of a
four-year state grant that has brought more than $300,000 to
support and expand the program.

But high school Assistant Principal Dolores Delgado, who helped
the school secure the original academy grant, said she believes
there will be other state grants available to keep the program on
course.

"We will keep it going," Delgado said. "We are committed to
that."

Heading the academy program and coordinating its internship
program are English and film instructor Wayne Beauvais, biotech and
biology teacher Paige De Cino and computer instructor Tammy
Raifsnider.

Now in its fifth year, the academy began with 13 students but is
growing rapidly. There are 36 seniors in internships while 75
juniors began the academy program at the start of this
semester.

Why the growth?

"Kids really are concerned about where they are going and how
they are going to get there," Beauvais said. "And I get a lot of
calls from parents asking about the program."

Juniors are allowed to join the academy program at the end of
their fall semester, but must earn admission through good grades as
well as letters of recommendation, De Cino said.

During the spring semester, students will be taught such skills
as how to write resumes, interview for jobs and how to behave in
workplaces.

At the end of the semester, coordinators meet with students and
parents to discuss the coming senior year and possible ways for
them to find internship positions to match their career goals.

While the internship coordinators may lend a hand in finding
jobs for the students, it's preferred that the students find their
own positions, Raifsnider said.

"We try not to hold their hands through the whole thing," she
said. "We want them to be self-motivated."

The students also seek out teachers to serve as advisors. About
30 teachers are volunteering to advise academy students, Beauvais
said.

Students, who can earn credits for their work, are required to
work 90 hours with the employer to complete the internship and then
dedicate another 20 to 25 hours for a senior project which includes
a research paper related to their professional field.

They are also required to create and deliver an oral Powerpoint
presentation of their research, using a computer and graphics
displays, to a panel of adults.

Students who have completed the program have reported that the
academy helped with earning entry to colleges, getting jobs,
securing scholarships and deciding what careers they wished to
follow.

"It gives them practical knowledge in what they'll need to
pursue a career -- how you can take what you're learning at
Carlsbad High School and apply it in a practical manner," Beauvais
said.

And "kind of test the water before you jump in," De Cino
said.

Beauvais said just as important as finding a career they love is
for students to learn the career they've dreamed of isn't for
them.